7" of Separation

I’m going to New York tomorrow. I need to pack!

Good bye desk. Good bye computer. Good bye newspaper.

Oh, it’s like heaven.

Happiness is… getting of work with a bonus in my pocket, and packing for a trip to ellyn.

more to come…

In order to survive as a society, I believe America has to realize one key problem with our pace, best explained by the following quote:

We need to slow down, think about our priorities, and ask ourselves what the point is of an expensive kitchen remodel when we don’t take the time to cook, and why we work so hard that we never have time to see the people we love. Maybe if we traded some of our discretionary income for discretionary time, that would be the true luxury.

From this article on why the French aren’t fat.

NBC is getting good at its viral marketing.

I do love a good piece of toast with Beet Jam though.

coming home from a sunny, nail-biting USC/Oregon game to eat tacos, listen to the Beavs and watch the world series.

Ah, to displace my worries with sports.

…

There was a huge, fat man next to me at the Duck game today. My pops and I shared a glance when he scwooshed past us. But as the game began, he turned out to be the best type of fan — he gave high-fives to everyone. I was his main target, though.

See, he gave the 360-all-around high-five only when the Ducks scored or caught an interception. But me, I got a high-five after almost any play of any consequence.

There was the clinch-penalty high-five.

There was the quarterback-sack high-five.

There was the good-special-team-performance high-five. (The Ducks are having special-team problems this season, so a special-team play that ends with the Ducks in possession of the ball is, apparently, high-five worthy.)

And most importantly, there was the tough-hit high-five, which assured me some skin at least every third play when the Ducks were on defense.

By the end of the game, we had this whole system worked out. He would slap me one up high. Then, I would duck while pops got five up top, before the fat man continued slapping-five in a small circle, his belly dragging around one fan behind.

This guy, this wonderful fat man, even hooted for the marching band at halftime.

And wait for it… he cheered, vivaciously, for the poor sap who tried to kick a football through a giant Orowheat (the bread company) logo for $1 million. Obviously, the kick was what one would expect from a tipsy football fan performing in front of 60,000 strangers. Still, my hefty pal, with his normal pep, said to me, “High-five, cause that would have been sweet if he’d done it.”

Thank you fat Duck fan. Thank you.

I love magic. I always have. When I was a kid, I just thought it was cool. Now, I love the communication event each trick is. Guys like David Blane and, better still, Darren Brown are nothing more than slight of hand artists and master communicators. They can read people like cheap novels, act on weaknesses and nearly control others with suggestion.

That’s why I find this next clip especially funny:

Jacoby Ellsbury just won me a taco!

Sweet.

Soccer moms are real. I hate them.

Well, the sun finally went away here in Oregon. After two days of 80+ degree weather, the gray is back. Ahh, much better to listen to the new Radiohead album to. The sun was nice though.

Speaking of the sun, NOVA, one of the best programs on PBS, recently produced a show on solar energy called Saved by the Sun. (Follow the link to watch the program.)

Two things stood out to me:

1) Germany continues to rock. The best segment in the show talks about Germany and its massive use of solar panels around the country. The government has a 20-year price lock on the price paid for energy produced by private panel owners. So, for the next 20 years, those who install solar panels on their property are guaranteed a good price on the power they produce. Cool incentives!

So, with these great incentives, everyone is doing it. There are solar panels everywhere. Plus, a booming industry to produce cheaper, more effective solar panels has been born.

Now, critics say the industry boom may not be sustainable. But at least it is a jump in the right direction.

Q-Cells, a German company and maker of silicon cells, is featured in the NOVA special.

Go Germany! Check out some of the solar panel displays around the country:

2) Amory Lovins is cool. Check out the last segment of the show, in which Lovins shows off his awesome tropical fruit room.

Anyway, back to work.

It was 86 degrees in Junction City today.

I was sweating.

What the heck?

More on this trend, and other news, tomorrow.

I’m not fishing. Instead, I’m at work.

I was supposed to be fishing.

Now, I’m not.

Lame.

It’s even freaking sunny out. Still, no fish.

Lame.